Keep in mind that the Barbet was from 1891 on (when the standard was wrtten)a pointing dog which for 100 years differenciated it from all the other water dogs in the French 8th group where it was( arbitrarily) put in 1986 from the 7th group of gun dogs and pointing dogs.

The Barbet was called a: Barbet français d'arrêt

Selecting dogs with working capacities will help the old bloodlines survive.

It says that a genetic test can identify the breeds that have gone into a crossbred dog.Therefore, DNA is going to help us also for that regardless of what anyone said.Courtesy: REVUE TECHNIQUE DU CHIEN no.8 juillet-août 2009

What M. Georgii did with the Barbet since 1992 is most respectable and honorable considering how he was continually harrassed by oodlers, and some very famous ones.He didn't have internet at the time, nor does he now.I don't have to agree with everything he did, but who the hell am I to judge? That's called respect.He did his best, and what he thought was right to help Mrs Pêtre who was not a born breeder (not all of us are, now are we?). You don't have to agree with what she did either, but who the hell are you to judge? That's called respect.When Baron Korthals created his breed he mixed this and that with a real objective in mind. He worked closely with Emmanuel Boulet who was making a different dog, and they even traded dogs...With great respect for each other's work.

Now, all the "goody 2 shoes" running breeding commissions and forcing ones or others to mate non-oodle dogs with with oodles are to be condemned; F1 metis dogs bred to oodles must be condemned.

I have become, against my better judgement, historian for the Barbet d'arrêt Français. That's life, and I will just make do with what I have, which is the truth. Not bad, and all in a days' work.

I don't really care if Compay Segundo has Spanish water dog or whatever in him as long as I know, so I can make sure the F2 are bred to Barbets and not oodles. He is a wonderful dog with a wonderful personality, 100% phenotype of the old lines and has produced wonderful pups.What more can I ask for? I only need to make sure future breeders of the line don't make mistakes. That's my reason for being as I was told nothing when I started breeding.

So. In conclusion some want to make oodles, some want to continue old Barbet bloodlines.But reconstructing a breed is not easy when one wants to get back to the original standard. Who is qualified to condemn old lines as being mutts( history can now prouve otherwise...!)? Are their dogs any better or worse that breeding a SWD type to a poodle? We'll see the resulst of the results at some point.So............voilà.